Objective To investigate the current distribution and predict the future suitable habitats of Haemaphysalis longicornis in Nanjing City, so as to provide insights into control and early warning of ticks and management of tick-borne diseases in Nanjing City. Methods The electronic map of Nanjing City was obtained from the National Platform for Common GeoSpatial Information Services. The distribution of H. longicornis and the longitude and latitude of distribution points from 2022 to 2024 were obtained from centers for disease control and prevention across each district in Nanjing City. Climatic and environmental variable data in Nanjing City were captured from the Worldclim database. Initially, 19 bioclimatic variables in this database were selected, including annual mean temperature, mean diurnal range, isothermality, temperature seasonality, maximum temperature of the warmest month, minimum temperature of the warmest month, temperature annual range, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, mean temperature of the driest quarter, mean temperature of the warmest quarter, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, annual precipitation, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest quarter, precipitation of the driest quarter, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and precipitation of the coldest quarter. The elevation and normalized difference vegetation index were obtained from Data Sharing Platform of the Center for Resources and Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Then, the distribution points of H. longicornis, elevation, vegetation index and 19 bioclimatic variables were loaded into the software MaxEnt 3.4.4 to evaluate and screen out the variables with a contribution rate of 1% and higher. ArcGIS 10.8.1 software was used to extract the elevation, vegetation index and 19 bioclimatic variables of the distribution points of H. longicornis for a correlation analysis. If the absolute value of the correlation coefficient was 0.8 and higher, the variable with the higher contribution was retained. The 2050 dataset of the BCCCSM2-MR atmospheric circulation model in the coupled model intercomparison project phase 6 (CMIP6) were obtained from the Worldclim database as climate data for 2050. Screened H. longicornis species data and environmental and climate data were loaded into the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model with the software MaxEnt 3.4.4 for training and validation, and then, all data generated from the model were imported into the software ArcGIS 10.8.1 to generate raster data and yield the map pertaining to the distribution of H. longicornis risk in Nanjing City. The accuracy of the model was evaluated with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the predictive effect of the model was assessed with area under the ROC curve (AUC). The suitable habitats of H. longicornis were classified in Nanjing City with the software ArcGIS 10.8.1, and the areas of distribution of suitable habitats in various categories were recorded to create the map of current H. longicornis suitable habitats classification in Nanjing City. The climatic and geographic information data in 2050 were employed as future environmental and climatic factors, and current environmental and climatic factors and current H. longicornis distribution data were additionally used to predict the future suitable habitats of H. longicornis in Nanjing City. In addition, the contributions of environmental and climatic factors to distribution of suitable habitats of H. longicornis was evaluated with the Jackknife method in Nanjing City. Results A total of 10 environmental and climatic variables were screened for analysis of the suitability of H. longicornis in Nanjing City based on correlation analyses and contributions of the MaxEnt model, including annual mean temperature, precipitation of the warmest quarter, vegetation index, precipitation of the wettest month, temperature annual range, annual precipitation, mean temperature of the warmest quarter, elevation, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, and maximum temperature of the warmest month, and annual mean temperature (34.8%), precipitation of the warmest quarter (17.3%), vegetation index (13.1%), and precipitation of the wettest month (10.8%) contributed relatively highly to the distribution of suitable habitats of H. longicornis in Nanjing City. The mean AUC of the ROC curve was 0.810 ± 0.055 for 10 repeated modeling results of the MaxEnt model, indicating high predictive performance of the model. The potential distribution areas of H. longicornis were predicted to be mainly located in Luhe District, Pukou District, Jiangning District, Lishui District, and Gaochun District in Nanjing City with the MaxEnt model. Under current climatic conditions, the area of potential suitable habitats of H. longicornis was 4 182.42 km² in Nanjing City, including 1 252.94 km² highly suitable habitats, which accounted for 19.00% of the total area of Nanjing City. Under the climate scenario in 2050, the area of potential suitable habitats of H. longicornis was projected to increase to 5 467.58 km² in Nanjing City, accounting for 82.95% of the total area of the city, and these habitats were mainly concentrated in Luhe District, Pukou District, Jiangning District, Lishui District, and Gaochun District. The areas of suitable habitats of H. longicornis at various categories were predicted to vary greatly in 2050, and the area of highly suitable habitats of H. longicornis was projected to increase to 2 378.82 km², accounting for 36.08% of the total area of Nanjing City. Based on jackknife tests and contributions of environmental and climatic variables, 6 dominant environmental and climatic factors were screened, including annual mean temperature (34.8% contribution), precipitation of the warmest quarter (17.3% contribution), vegetation index (13.1% contribution), precipitation of the wettest month (10.8% contribution), temperature annual range (5.4% contribution), and mean temperature of the warmest quarter (5.0% contribution), with cumulative contributions of 86.4%. Conclusion The distribution of H. longicornis is strongly associated with vegetation, temperature and precipitation in Nanjing City. Future climate change may lead to an expansion of the distribution area of H. longicornis in Nanjing City.

Objective:To explore the clinical effect on reconstruction of the soft tissue defects after resection of mucous cysts of distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) with transfer of the flap of dorsal branch of proper palmar digital artery.Methods:From September 2021 to September 2023, 8 patients (8 digits) with mucous cysts on DIP were treated in the Department of Hand and Microsurgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University. All 8 cases were females, aged 55-65 years old, with an average age of 60 years old. The cyst was located in the thumb in 1 case, in the index finger in 3 cases, in the middle finger in 3 cases, and in the ring finger in 1 case. After extensive resection of the mucous cysts, the size of soft tissue defects was at 0.8 cm×0.6 cm-1.7 cm×0.9 cm. Pedicled with the dorsal branch of proper palmar digital artery, the flaps adjacent to the defects were designed to cover the wounds. The size of the flaps was 1.2 cm×1.0 cm-2.0 cm×1.2 cm. Donor sites of the flap were covered by the full thickness skin grafts of medial upper arm. The postoperative follow-up was conducted by the combination of outpatient revisits and telephone reviews to observe the survival of the flap, and the functional recovery was evaluated according to the Evaluation Standard of Upper Limb Functional of Hand Surgery of Chinese Medical Association.Results:All flaps survived well after surgery. Postoperative follow-up ranged from 4 to 12 months, with a mean of 10 months. At the final follow-up, there was no recurrence of mucous cyst and all symptoms disappeared. All flaps healed well, with good appearance, soft texture and without obvious difference in colour from the surrounding skin. All skin grafts healed in one stage. The range of motion of the affected DIP was 0°-70°, and the TPD was at 7-8 mm, both caused no impact on daily life. The outcomes were excellent according to the evaluation criteria set by the Evaluation Standard of Upper Limb Functional of Hand Surgery of Chinese Medical Association.Conclusion:The flap pedicled with dorsal branch of proper palmar digital artery has obvious advantages with less damage and simple operation in the treatment of a mucous cyst of DIP. It is an ideal surgical procedure.

Objective To investigate the boosting efficiency of a subunit vaccine consisting of the fusion protein Ag85B-Mpt64190-198-Mth8.4 (AMM) , dimethyl-dioctyldecyl ammonium bromide (DDA) and BCG polysaceharide nucleic acid (BCG-PSN) on the primed inoculation with BCG. Methods The AMM subunit vaccine was composed of fusion protein AMM, adjuvant DDA and BCG-PSN. The first mouse experi-mental group was immunized with BCG first, then boosted with the AMM subanit vaccine in the 10th week. The second experimental group was boosted with the AMM subunit vaccine in the 8th week and the 10th week respectively with a two weeks interval after the primed with BCG. Two control groups were treated re-spectively with physiological saline alone and BCG alone. After the primed inoculation, ELISPOT and ELISA were used for the detection of the cell-mediated and humoral immune response in week 14 and week 22 re-spectively. Furthermore, the immunized mice were challenged with live BCG to mimic tuberculosis infection in the 22nd week after the primed inoculation. Subsequently the T cell typing and humoral response were de-tected by flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. Results ( 1 ) The level of secreting IFN-γ: 14 weeks af-ter the primed inoculation,with the stimulation of the specific antigen-Ag85B, the number of cells secreting IFN-γ in the second experimental group (135±14) was more than BCG alone immunized group (19±16), t = 10. 98, P < 0.01. In the 22nd week, the number of cells secreting IFN-γ in the second experimental group (208±11) was still more than BCG alone group (57±18), t =6.43, P <0.01. (2) The level of humoral immune response: the IgG1 antibody titer in the second experimental group was obviously higher than that in the first experimental group. However, the ratio of IgG2a to IgG1, as the index reflecting the Thl-type immune response, in the experimental group 2 was lower than that in the experimental group 1. (3) The contents of CD4+ CD25+ T cells after challenged with live BCG strain: the first and the second ex-perimental groups were both higher than the BCG alone group (t1 = 3.08, t2 = 3.16, P < 0.05 ). Conclu-sion Boosting the BCG-pfimed mice with tuberculosis AMM subunit vaccine twice can induce higher level of cell-mediated and humoral immune response than BCG alone, which could activate the regulative immune response at the same time.

Objective To construct protective immunity to Mycobncterium tuberculosis latent infection, a novel fusion protein consisting of HspX, the 190 to 198 peptide of Mpt64 and Ag85B, which were confirmed to be the effective protective antigens mainly expressed in the dormancy and exponential phase of growth, was constructed and its immunogenicity was investigated. Methods Ag85B and Mpt64190-198-HspX sequences were amplified by PCR and cloned into plasmids pET-28a. The fusion protein, Ag85BMpt64190-198-HspX (AMH) was expressed in E. coli BL21 and purified with Ni-NTA resins. C57BL/6 mice were immunized three times at 2-week intervals subcutaneously with AMH formulated with the adjuvant composed of dimethyl-dioctyldecyl ammonium bromide (DDA) and BCG polysaccharide nucleic acid (BCGPSN). Humoral and cell-mediated immunity responses were analyzed at five weeks after the last injection. Results AMH was expressed stably in E. coli and could be purified well by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. C57BL/6 mice immunized with AMH subunit vaccine generated specific cellular and humoral immunologic response to the stimulation of Ag85B, Mpt64190-198 and HspX. Conclusion It suggested that AMH was a promising candidate antigen of tuberculosis subunit vaccine.